Daddy's Little Heroes
by Leonardo DiCaprio
Summary: Danny Fenton is under the impression that his three children died long ago...but they were really "adopted" by a billionaire with a dark secret. As Taylor grows up, she realizes everybody's got a skeleton in their closet...even if they don't know about it. Even "perfect" people have their flaws.
1. Taking Initiative

**Hey there everyone :) I'm finally posting that rewrite of this story that I've been wanting to do forever. It's hard to think that I wrote this eleven months ago and it's still one of my favorites :D**

**In the rewrite I have changed various things from the original. All the chapters will be posted in order now XDXDXD and Taylor and Leo will look more alike (gave Taylor brown hair and blue eyes cuz I can) and Mara's also changed. She's ten now and her hair's still the color of Danny's ghost form hair but with black tips. She has her mother's purple eyes instead of the original ghostly yellow eyes I gave her which didn't even make sense. Aiden is pretty much the same, but I did develop more on his personality and made him a bit more like Danny in that respect. Casey is EXACTLY the same, so no need to worry about him. Ivan's hair color may be changed to dark brown instead of black, but I still haven't decided that yet. Any opinions? And then there's Lolita...gosh I changed her up! Instead of being Sam and Garth's kid, she'll be Garth and JAZZ'S kid which means she'll be Leo's cousin so they can't be paired together. And Lolita will be a redhead! Yay! I'm also gonna expand on her personality more (yeah, the personality I didn't give her). Cecelia will be the one in love with Wenn instead of Danielle. Also, Wenn won't die. He's too awesome. Perhaps Tara will take his place XD she's a nobody.**

**Anyways, enjoy the story! For those of you who didn't get a chance to read it before, I'll be updating throughout Christmas break. You're going to love this. Thank you ahead of time for reading!**

**~Prenn**

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**Chapter 1: Taking Initiative **

Vlad Masters surveyed the scene. One little love tap and the two trains collided. Excellent, it was right on schedule. Vlad smiled. His arch nemesis, Danny Fenton, was on that train along with his pregnant wife. Vlad was smiling glamorously as he gazed out of the police department window at the train crash he had caused. It was smoking. Being a middle-aged billionaire, Vlad was used to success by now.

Piles of ash and debris from the small explosion hand landed every which way—in the tops of trees and in the cracks of the cement. Vlad had used his powers (ghost powers, that is) to distract the engineers on the train so that they'd unbeknowedly head for a collision point. Once it was all over, Danny and his family would _finally_ be dead. Gone. Out of Vlad's hair forever and never to come back. Danny was such a pest. He always had to be the hero.

Vlad flew over to the train. He gasped. Danny was still alive! And so was his family, but Danny and his wife Cecelia were unconscious. _This is not good_, Vlad thought, _but I'll make do. I'll improvise._ _That's all it takes here is a little creative thinking and soon things will be going my way._

Danny's beautiful wife had been in labor just before the crash. The product was lying on the floor next to her. Two babies, a boy and a girl. Vlad took them both and hushed them down because they were crying. Waking the other survivors would not be wise. Vlad couldn't risk any attention being drawn to him by the children. _I need to get out of here, _Vlad mused, the babies in his arms.

Vlad never thought of having kids before, but when he looked at this pair of newborns, he couldn't let them have the same demise that he cursed Danny with. Both of the babies had inherited brown hair from their mother and sky blue eyes from their father. What a pair. Vlad knew in his heart he owed them the mercy of redeeming them. They'd done nothing against him to earn the same fate as…Danny Phantom.

Vlad loathed that half-ghost boy ever since he learned the kid had powers. It wasn't right for the son of idiot Jack Fenton to have the same powers that Vlad had. These were Vlad's powers—he had them first! And for ten years before Danny was even born! Danny was just a pathetic copycat! If there was anybody or anything Vlad hated more than Danny, it was Jack.

Jack Fenton was the cause of a terrible accident back in the college days that cost Vlad years of his life where he wasted away in the hospital. Ever since Vlad found out about his own powers, he knew he was destined to do great things. He knew that one day, he'd emerge, but only to find that Jack had stolen the love of his life—Maddie—for his own. Yeah, those were cold and bitter days, and right around the time of the holidays too. So much for holiday cheer.

The new couple went off for a three-week honeymoon, and only five years after being married, Maddie was already pregnant with her and Jack's second child. How pathetic. Vlad's pleasure became mocking them in all their lovey-dovey glory. The worst part was that they didn't even notice…or care, for that matter.

Danny Fenton, also known by his alter ego name of Danny _Phantom_, spent most of his adolescent life foiling Vlad's plans. It was Danny who would always put his foot down and stepped in the way of those things. And now Danny was at one of the most vulnerable points his life would bring. He was sprawled there on the ground, his chest bleeding from where something hard had hit him in the explosion. He had his arm around Cecelia—he'd protect her with his life, as she often did for him. Pathetic, just like Jack and Maddie. Marriage and family—what a waste of time! Who wants to spend money on a wife when there's so many exotic realms out there to conquer, right?

_Danny Fenton had to go_, the hatred burned like dry ice in Vlad's ill-stricken mind. He had to make a break for it if he was going to get outta here before the combustion of the trains procured another flare-up.

"Who are you? Are you a fireman?" A small voice asked from down below. Vlad rolled his eyes. Did this day have no end to its surprises? As if a voice that small could stop the great Vlad Masters!

Vlad looked down at a little child who appeared to be no younger than three years old. "My name is Vlad." The tyrant said hurriedly.

This little urchin had very neat, straight, pitch black hair and green eyes, and he had a long face for his age and that same smiling, clueless expression on his face that Danny wore so often. Oh no... "Are you going to rescue us, Mr. Fireman? I'm not hurt from the boom, Mr. Firemen. Oh no! I am 100% A-okay!"

Vlad paused a moment to think through his next few moves while the kid kept rambling. Vlad knew that very soon a rescue squad would come in. Above all else, Vlad couldn't be caught as the only conscious person on the train. Swarming reporters would begin to ask questions. Still, he couldn't believe he had even considered this! "Yes, I'm going to save you." Vlad said flatly, no pity in his voice. He had to make sure he wasn't growing soft.

The little boy stopped rambling and smiled again, a childish vacant look in his eye. Then his eyes wandered downward at Danny. "What about my mommy and daddy?" The little boy seemed confused.

Vlad didn't account for this in his plan. Alas, this little guy must also be Danny's child. Hopefully there would be no more of the little rugrats running around. Even if there were, Vlad's patience was in no mind to rescue any more.

"I'm afraid their fate is sealed." Vlad said coldly, looking over his shoulder one last time to make sure the two lovers hadn't sprung to consciousness. "They are dead." He put the statement as bluntly as he could have. In a way, a part of him actually wanted to make the little boy cry. He was so annoying. He deserved it.

The child felt his father's hand for the last time and wiped his salty tears in his mother's hair.

Vlad let the kid mourn for thirty seconds and then picked him up by the collar. "We have to go."

"I don't wanna!" The youngster wailed loudly and dramatically.

Vlad hated it when people made a scene! He had to shut the boy up somehow. "There there." He patted the little back, pretending to empathize. "Come with me now if you want to live. We've no time to waste, my boy!"

Vlad ran them out of the train and into the police department. The police department was now quite flustered with people trying to help out in the train accident and they wouldn't have noticed Vlad anyways.

Vlad set the two babies down and the little boy sat next to him. "I had to get you away from there. I'm sorry, that your parents didn't survive." The little boy began to cry and whine in a fit again. Vlad scooped him up in his arms. "Don't worry. Daddy Vladdy is here." Vlad said. Soon the boy calmed down. "You have to be a strong little soldier, okay?"

The little boy nodded.

"What's your name, son?"

"Aiden."

"Do you know your last name?"

The little boy shook his head. He probably didn't even know what that was.

"Your last name is Masters. So your full name is Aiden _Masters_."

"Aiden Masters." The boy repeated, brushing the tears away. He kind of liked the ring to the name because he kept saying it over and over until it was ingrained into his brain.

Later in the day, Vlad was able to adopt all three children with no problem, considering he was a billionaire. He drove the children—who were now _his_ children—towards his home. They rode in a very fancy electric blue sports car. Vlad was mentally crossing his fingers that nobody would spit up or produce any other assortment of vile secretions while sitting on his vinyl seats. The sort-of family arrived at Vlad's mansion in a timely fashion.

"This is so much bigger than my house." Aiden observed happily as his father showed him around. They walked through several long hallways, up and down a winding staircase, and ran across the cleanly polished marble floor.

Vlad nodded proudly. In some small corner of his heart he was beginning to enjoy this. He's been living alone far too long. Thirty years too long. "I can get you anything you ask for."

"You can get me a model race car? And an autographed football helmet?"

"I can get you a _real_ race car. And I'm a big fan of the Green Bay Packers."

"Cool!" Aiden jumped up and down. "Me too!"

"This'll be a piece of cake." Vlad muttered to himself. See, success will always follow hard work.

That night, Vlad thought that enough hours had passed and Danny and his wife would be wondering where their kids were, if they weren't dead, that is. Vlad called Danny on his cell phone. Maybe Vlad would get lucky and nobody would answer. Then there'd be no explaining to do. Or not.

Danny picked up. "What do you want, Vlad?" He seemed a bit put-out.

"Oh I just wanted to see if you are okay." Vlad twirled the phone cord around his finger. "I was flying around town and I couldn't help but see that _naasssty_ train accident. Were _you_ on that train, Danny boy?" Vlad played coy. "Goodness gracious, I hope not. How horrific it would have been!"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was a passenger on the train at the time of the crash. And so were my wife and kids. But my wife is fine. We're just going to be spending the night at the hospital until the officers find our kids."

"Are your little ones okay?"

"_Why_?"

"Because I saw three little scrambled, bloody bodies on gurneys get hauled away by men wearing black and grey…"

Danny gasped. "Are you _sure_ it was my kids?" Danny stammered with a breaking voice.

"How many did you have?"

"…Three." Danny hesitated. "Leo and Taylor had just been born right before—"

"There weren't any other kids on the train, were there?"

Danny realized that was true. All the other passengers were members of baseball teams heading for some tournament that didn't even get to happen. Danny was crying now, because real men cry. "Thank you for telling me." He said briskly.

Vlad looked at the little children. The two babies were on the couch sleeping peacefully. Vlad had to buy some cradles and a changing table for them. He'd have to purchase many new items, honestly.

Vlad and Aiden observed the two babies as they stirred in and out of adorably restless slumber. "Whatever shall we name them?"

"Mom said their names would be Tyler and Leo."

"You mean _Taylor_ and Leo."

Aiden nodded. "That too."

Vlad leaned back, fully appeased with himself and his accomplishments. Ultimately, the last point had gone to Vlad's side. The ongoing game with Danny was over now that his spirit had been broken completely. He'd never get over the death of his kids! In the end, every single variable landed in Vlad's favor.

Vlad watched Aiden run around the house like the crazy, energetic little tyke he was. Vlad wondered if the kids would ever inherit Danny's ghost powers. This child was for certain going to end up doing sports and several of them. Perhaps an early introduction to football movies and games might spark more interest than was already present. Vlad had his work cut out for him. In his free time, aside from collecting the state's money, he'd be laying out the blueprints in his lab for a ghost genetic tester.

One that could inform him if any of these three children had ghost DNA. After all, if these kids were to someday acquire powers, Vlad would want to know about it so he could give them a more proper upbringing.

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**Please review :) and have a good rest of the week!**

**~Prenn**


	2. The Master's Children

**Hey there :D this is Prenn with another chapter for you! Please review. Updates will be coming soon. When I do re-edits, I like to do them all in one sitting but this novel's far too big for that. So enjoy these chapters that will come as I post them. I hope you like the way it's turning out so far! Enjoy the holiday atmosphere!**

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**Chapter 2: The Master's Children**

Aiden, Taylor, and Leo grew up strong and healthy. Everything they wanted was only a tear away. All their food was handed to them on a silver platter. Childhood days of exploring the enormous mansion house were not uncommon. Vlad made sure to keep his children rooted in reality though. To Aiden, Vlad inspired dreams of football, soccer, and basketball.

To Taylor, Vlad was a little more lenient. Every once in a while, she would beg him to read her fairytale stories. Eventually he had to discontinue story time because Taylor got too "involved". Vlad feared that Taylor would think the fairytales were reality. It was the third child that stumped Vlad completely. The other two were so easy to figure out. Leo was impossible to predict. His interests were so diverse that Vlad started to get a little worried.

Little boys are supposed to like sports, trucks, and cars. Leo liked aliens, Legos, and helicopters. Once in a while Vlad would catch the child watching supernatural television shows. Naturally, Vlad didn't want Leo to be exposed to vampires, werewolves, and ghosts at such an impressionable age.

It was so hard to keep Leo away from the truth sometimes.

Vlad was observing Leo intangibly.

"Leo, why you watching dat?" Taylor waltzed into the room and grabbed the remote. She switched it to some Barbie fairy movie. Leo just sat there as usual and didn't protest. His sister was the strong-willed one. Taylor knew he didn't mind her bossing him around.

_Whew_, Vlad thought to himself, _thank goodness for Taylor_. It hurt Vlad every time he was responsible for spoiling Leo's fun. What was this, a soft spot? Was old Vladdy finally growing up? This fatherly mask that he put on every morning was starting to blur all the lines together. You could say that it was like the missing variable in the equation of life.

And then Aiden woke up from his "snooze". Vlad had to be very careful NOT to call it a nap or Aiden would go bezerk. "_I'm too old for naps!_" Aiden said the phrase way too often. He was just about the only person that challenged Taylor. He and her were equally strong-willed. "Stop watching this sissy stuff!" Aiden stole the remote from Taylor.

Leo stared at his brother in amazement.

"Hey!"

Leo's eyes shifted back to Taylor.

"The packers are on, yay!" Aiden jumped up onto the couch.

Taylor pouted. She realized the only way to get her show back was to clobber Aiden.

_It's fun to watch them think_, Vlad thought amusedly. He was amazed at how fast the children learned.

"Aiden!" Taylor charged.

Aiden didn't even get a chance to escape. Taylor tackled him, but she didn't win the prize. Instead, Aiden pushed her off the couch. She landed with a light thump on the ground. Since she had been a consistent try-it-once-and-then-give-up person, she stood up and roamed around the house until she found something else to do. Leo followed her.

Vlad twitched slightly when he heard the doorbell ring. "Late again, old friend." He muttered to himself. Turning intangible again, he straightened his dark red tie as he answered the front door.

"Vladdy!"

Vlad faked a smile. "Jack! How lovely to see you!" He hugged the large man quickly. "And…Maddie!" Vlad's eyes brightened. He tried to pull the orange-haired woman into a hug, but she shook his hand instead. Not letting go of the hand, Vlad pulled her into the house. "Like the new design?"

Maddie's eyes scanned the room. The walls were a dark cream color. The floor was white. There were various tapestries and figurines decorating the place. Overall, the furniture and appliances looked shiny and new. Collectively, the house smelled like the beach. "It's all very…clean."

"It's a beautiful home, old buddy!" Jack chimed. "Here's the dessert you asked for!" He plopped a big white frosting mound on the counter island. "Made it myself! 100% chocolate fudge!"

"Fudge," Vlad gagged silently, "How delicious."

Jack took the liberty of gathering silverware and plates. "Let's dig in."

"Hold on, Jack." Maddie bent down and came up with a boy in her arms. "Who's this little fella?"

"I can explain!" Vlad bust out defensively. Maddie eyed him oddly. Vlad took a deep breath. "That's Leo. He's my adoptive son. There's two more little tykes running around here somewhere…" He spun around the house. "Excuse me for a second." Distantly he could be heard calling for Aiden and Taylor.

"Well hello there little one!" Maddie cooed to Leo who squealed in delight. "I bet you must be three years old!"

"Four!" Leo held up two fingers.

Maddie giggled. "Jack, isn't he just the cutest—stop eating!"

"What?" Asked the man with a mouthful of chocolate. "I'm starving!"

Maddie's eyebrows lowered but she didn't say anything.

Vlad returned with a cute little girl and another boy. "This is Taylor and Aiden."

"When did you get them?" Asked Maddie. She set Leo down and smiled at Taylor, who hugged her. Maddie in turn smiled at Aiden.

The athlete frowned. "You're a stranger." He pointed. His long arm was very muscular for a child's. His eyebrows were thick and black. Just like his father's—his real father, that is. Not this gray-haired substitute.

"I'm Maddie Fenton. I'm you're daddy's old college friend. And this," She nodded to her round husband, "Is Jack."

Aiden fearlessly approached the man that was three times his height and four times as wide. "Hello there, kid." Jack smiled wide.

Aiden poked Jack in the pot-belly and giggled. "Pudge."

Maddie gasped. She glared at Vlad. "How rude."

Vlad chuckled a bit, and then stifled it. "Aiden…" He picked him up. "You know you're not supposed to say things like that. Apologize to Uncle Jack."

Aiden sighed. "Sorry."

Every year, Jack and Maddie came over to celebrate the holidays with Vlad since he was alone and so were they. At least, they _thought_ Vlad was alone. Vlad let the children stay with a sitter each year because he liked to keep to himself around this time of year. And he would be so embarrassed if his friends knew he had children.

It had taken him these four years to finally get over himself. Christmas with the kids couldn't be that bad after all. "So," Vlad instructed everyone where to sit down, "Ever get any texts or calls from…Danny?"

Instantaneously the holiday cheer vanished from Jack's and Maddie's rosy faces. Jack seemed all forlorn and defeated. Maddie winced as if she were fighting to hold back a hurricane of emotions. Vlad sneered a bit as he pulled out the pot roast from the slow-cooker.

He knew _exactly_ what the answer would be.

Very little had changed. It was almost as if they—Danny, Cecelia, Jasmine, Danielle, Tucker, and the others—had fallen off the face of the earth.

Jack pretended like he wasn't as bummed out as he really was. "Golly, it's been what…two years now?"

"Three." Maddie corrected softly.

"Yeah. Three years since we've heard anything from our kids."

_You're not fooling anybody with that smile, Jack_, Vlad thought. "They're all paired off now, correct? Who's Jasmine's boyfriend, that Garth fellow?"

"Yes." Replied the Fentons.

"Going steady with him was the happiest day of her life." Maddie said.

"Last we heard from her, she was pregnant." Jack said.

"And Danielle?"

"She married that successful technology investor, Tucker Foley." Jack said. "He was one of Danny's best friends."

Vlad looked Jack in the eye. He knew exactly how the fellow worked. He knew he could just keep stringing this along. Jack wasn't clever enough to see that this was revenge for all the years he had Maddie…and all the years Vlad had spent alone. "And what happened to Danny, hm? Your _favorite_?"

Jack's lower lip quivered. And it _wasn't_ because Aiden was eating all the fudge. "He seemed to have it all together…beautiful wife…and a little baby. Golly, I don't even remember the child's face. I only saw him once."

"You talk about them like they're all dead." Vlad said coyly.

Jack didn't know how to respond to that.

"Enough with this talk." Maddie stood up. "It's the holidays! Let's say a quick prayer before the meal."

"Children, fold your hands." Vlad said. Everyone obeyed.

"You're a good father, Vladdy." Jack mumbled. "I don't know where _I_ went wrong…"

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**Since this is the re-edit and this excerpt was not in the original, let me know if you would like to see more exerpts from the childrens' childhood. in reading the original one last time, i realized i kind of just went right into the main part where the twins were fourteen. that was quite a big gap to leave untouched. i need feedback, people! :)**

**~Wishing you a happy new year, Prenn**


	3. Believe It Or Not

**Hey :) Guess what? Last night I was on homecoming court as a homecoming princess for the first time! It was amazing! Now I was so excited I just had to upload another chapter :D Review please!**

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**Chapter 3: Believe It Or Not**

Taylor's morning had been so tedious—from the morning strawberry waffle to the tranquil yoga routine to ballet stretches—it felt good to let out all the stress. _What a full life, _Taylor thought to herself, _how do I even manage it all?_ Year after year, Taylor's life kept getting better. Some part of her wished she could stay in the eighth grade forever. The year was getting closer to its final conclusion. One of these days she'll have to go to high school and start from the bottom of the totem pole. Taylor never had any trouble working her way up though.

What a sunny Tuesday afternoon! The young and pretty Taylor Masters was relaxing on a pink towel by the calm poolside. She had convinced herself she was far too pale to go to school and her father—Vlad Masters—had let her stay home to get a tan. Soon enough, she would be back at school to show off her freshly pampered self to her classmates and her best friend Karmen. Taylor had a habit of making all the other cheerleaders jealous. Even the captain felt a little intimidated by her.

Aiden Masters was a junior in high school. He had it all—the friends, the grades, and the varsity letter. And it was all thanks to dad's money. Aiden knew that, and he was grateful for the fact. Money was one of the very few constants in his life. Aiden knew he'd be able to get into any college he wanted because money was no object. So many little boys dream of becoming sports stars. Aiden was going to make his dream a reality. For now he's just gotta keep freewheeling through school. With his exceptional grades, he could accomplish anything.

Unlike his brother and sister, Leo Masters wasn't a social stud. He was just beginning to hit puberty and his body was built like a child's. Leo was actually more of an average guy. People liked him, but he didn't seek out popularity like his siblings did. He had his own little circle of friends and that's all that mattered. He'd sit at his neon green laptop all day (even at school) doing some research on something dumb like aliens or really mainstream movies.

Sometimes he'd spend one or two or…_five_ hours making video games. Not playing them (because that'd be a total waste of time) but CREATING them. Leo's always dreamed of adventure and this was his way of finding it. He knew childhood was ending. He wanted to get his last laughs in before it was over forever. Leo didn't want to grow up.

Vlad would never say it out loud; but he honestly thought his money was a waste with Leo. Leo never did anything with his fortune. He just let it build up and up and up! To Vlad, "saving" money might as well be "throwing away" money.

At around three o'clock, a limo was dispatched from the mansion to retrieve Leo. The driver was timely. There was a rule in the family that if the limo was tardy, Taylor and Leo had the power to give him the sack. Aiden had a fancy sports car to drive home in.

After a long day of tediously pampering herself, Taylor sat on the couch filing her nails. Her phone was vibrating. "Hey Karmen!"

"Hey girl! Wassup? Why weren't you in school today? The other girls on the squad were totally worried about you! You aren't sick, are ya?"

"Gosh, no. I just needed my beauty rest and a tan, that's all."

"It is?"

"And a nail makeover."

"Okay, now I understand."

"Thanks for calling! You're the best BFF ever, Karmen!"

"Cha-ching!"

"I dunno what I'd do without you. You're my soul sister forever."

"Aw, thanks. I gotta go to dinner. You'll be in school tomorrow, right?"

"Totally. And Maurice will finally think I'm hot enough for him."

"I can't wait to see that. Talk to ya later."

Taylor went back outside to catch the late afternoon rays before her brothers came home. She put on some fast-paced K-pop music. For some odd reason, music always made her feel alive. At the same time, it relaxed her so she could think more clearly. There was something deep inside this chick's core that made her crave adventure. For now, she only had her head to create these fantasies. As much as she loved school, Taylor believed she was destined for something…greater. That was her big secret. Nobody could ever find out. She'd lose all her classy appeal, right? She couldn't have the world think she was stuck in some fairytale now could she?

Taylor knew the sound of the limo's tires all too well. This could only mean one thing—Leo was home. Soon after, Aiden pulled up in his sports car. Taylor opened a lazy eye. From upside down she saw her older brother walking over in his white swim trunks. "Good afternoon." She said politely.

"How was your day, princess?" Aiden asked his sister upon making a splash into the pool.

Taylor flipped her eye-grazing bangs in a most bodacious way. "Oh it was lovely, brother dear."

"Fantastic. How nice it must be to spend an entire day doing absolutely nothing."

As usual, Taylor couldn't sense the sarcasm in his voice. "I know, right! How was your day?"

"Well Jarred managed to talk the class out of taking a pop quiz. And Rae, she finished knitting that scarf for me. She made it as red as my varsity letterman jacket. I'm really happy."

"Isn't it great to have friends?"

"Yeah." Aiden swam a lap or two.

"That one loser still has the obsessive crush on me." Taylor sighed. "He texted me twice today."

"During class?"

"During class."

"What a lowlife. Rules aren't made to be broken. I know these kids and they're all the same. If I ever meet this kid I swear I'm gonna pound him. I'll teach him the kind of lesson he so obviously isn't learning in school."

Taylor laughed lightly.

"Is he still stalking you on facebook?"

"Yep. It's so weird!"

"He seems like a total douche."

"You crack me up, Aiden."

Aiden sneered at her teasingly and then walked upstairs to take a shower. Then he settled in front of his computer to partake in his guilty pleasure—typing extra credit school papers. Every month, Mr. Lancer assigned one, and Aiden was pretty much the only kid in class that did them obsessively. Aiden was all about grades and sports. He was an ideal son that any parent would be proud of. Every year of high school he had been valedictorian and a top-of-the-line football player. He was very well-respected by students and teachers, especially the guys on the football team. Aiden was a bit of a highschool legend actually.

"Taylor, you'll never guess what happened today." Leo sat down next to his sister beside the pool. He put his glasses in the pocket of his blue jacket. As much as Taylor enjoyed having her older brother around, there was no substitute for her twin. Her other half. Her closest comrade.

"What?" Taylor asked curiously. Leo was one of the few people in the world who was worth taking time to listen to.

"There are two new students in our class. They just moved here from up north. Actually, they used to live here a long time ago and we were friends. I missed them especially over Christmas break in fifth grade. So now they're back—"

"Stop rambling, Leo." Taylor interrupted.

"Sorry. Lolita has really obnoxious red hair. And I mean that in a good way. She's a quiet, calm person. Casey's a real swell guy and he believes in ghosts, aliens and werewolves just as much as I do. Cool names, too, don't cha think?"

Taylor swooshed her hair to one side, so that it rested flatteringly on her neck. "Interesting."

"You'll tick with me tomorrow and meet them right?"

"I guess. Unless they're like…losers."

"They can't be all bad." He elbowed her. "They hang with _me_."

She smiled. "Riiight."

"I'll warn you about Casey—he swears. Like a lot."

"Ugh I can't stand it when people swear!"

"It bothers me too." He shrugged. "But whatever."

"Bet you think that Lolita chick is cute, huh?"

Leo scoffed. "No, gah, she's actually kinda ugly."

Taylor chuckled. "Good."

"Okay." Leo was used to his sister by now.

"You need to get yourself a pretty girlfriend. Like…Karmen."

Leo blushed nervously. He had a bit of an issue talking to any chick that was pretty and not his sister.

"Heh heh, you two were made for each other."

"She doesn't even know I exist."

"…That's true."

"And _you_ need to hook up with Maurice."

"NO WAAAY!"

"I thought you said he was attractive."

"I did, but that doesn't mean I'm going to go and date him."

"I'd advise you to hurry, because Lolita already made her move on him."

Taylor gasped loudly. "Do you know what this means?"

"No not really."

"I'm going to school tomorrow!" Taylor stood up dramatically and pointed to the air like those silly superheroes in comics did. She smiled at Leo. "And I'll be wearing that cute pink dress I have and my new violet sandals. And it will all look great with my flawless skin and my freshly manicured nails, see?" Taylor put her nails in her brother's face. That was one of the better things about Leo—there was no scaring him away. He could be just as crazy as she was. He did it in his own way, but only when nobody else was around.

One of those moments came in the night when Leo curled up in front of his laptop with the bedroom lights off watching his favorite show, Believe It Or Not. That's right, Leo was one of those spectators that talked to the television characters as if they could hear him. So let's just say this boy was a little…loud.


	4. They Walk Among Us

**Here I am with another chapter for you guys :3 please fave, follow, and review if you want to know what happens next!**

**Taylor's so close to believing in ghosts...what'll happen when she finds out they are real after all? Is she another step closer to discovering what happened to her real father?**

**And what is Karmen's role in all of this?**

**Yes, I gave Karmen a bigger part than in the old version...**

**ENJOY!**

**~Prenn **

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**Chapter 4: They Walk Among Us **

The next day, Taylor put her pin-straight brown hair in a side ponytail. Her cerulean eye shadow matched her eyes perfectly just like her open-toed "summer" shoes. And the pink dress and nails were the highlight of the outfit.

Leo wore a green jacket concealing a neon yellow shirt with a cartoon alien head on it. He had the zipper up all the way because that was just his style. His pants were dark blue jeans from American Eagle. They were the kind one wore on a fishing trip.

Leo sat next to his sister in the limo that drove them to school.

"Ugh. Yeah, I forgot it was _this_ school. I don't even remember why we moved to Amity Park when we loved it in Wisconsin." Taylor looked at the sign to the school. "Casper Junior High."

"Dad said the moving trip had something to do with business."

"Then why are we still here after three months? I was _so_ looking forward to visiting Watson University when I turned eighteen."

"That's an all boys' school."

"I know!"

"Here we are, Mr. and Miss Masters." The limo driver announced. "Your departure."

"Actually, for future reference, I prefer "_Ms. _Masters"." Taylor said.

The driver nodded.

"There's the girl." Leo pointed out Lolita on his way into school.

Taylor, who always walked into school with him, grimaced at Lolita.

"She's as ugly as you said. And she has no style." Taylor whispered. "I'm disappointed in you, Leo."

Leo rolled his eyes.

Lolita was at her locker getting her books. She was skinny and had no curve and her hair was wild but short. It had a blood red streak in it, contrasting the natural orange. Lolita wore magenta lipstick and black eyeliner and her clothes were yellow and black. And she had combat boots.

"Who wears _combat boots_?" Taylor commented to Leo as Lolita closed her locker and walked to class.

Leo shrugged.

"I knew a girl once who wore combat boots." Taylor said wisely. "And she was EVIL!" Taylor made a creepy face that made Leo laugh.

Taylor and Leo had every class together except for two. This was most likely so because they had the same last name. As for their two electives, Taylor chose gym and dance. And Leo chose band and computers. Taylor was also in the cheerleading extra-curricular, which meant sometimes Leo had to wait for her after school.

In Taylor's dance class was her best friend Karmen. This green-haired chick was almost as…"Taylor" as Taylor herself was. Both girls enjoyed showing off their rad dance moves. They were rewarded with wolf whistles from the guys.

As the door opened and closed suddenly, Taylor and Karmen both flinched. Maybe it was that creepy janitor who sometimes came in to clean at this hour.

Maybe it was worse!

"Sorry I'm late." Said a soft voice.

Taylor noticed Lolita entering the room. The red-head handed the teacher—Ms. Gray—a hall pass slip.

"Ms. Gray is never going to accept that." Karmen scoffed. "Time for the new girl to learn the way things work around here."

"I know, right!" Taylor flipped her hair.

But she did.

Taylor frowned.

Karmen's eyes went wide. "But she's never…" Her voice trailed off. "Ms. Gray's one of the strictest teachers ever!"

"I know, Karmen."

"She's never accepted a pass from _us_, and we're the nicest kids in her class. We get straight A's and everything."

"I know."

"She said we were her two favorite students!"

"_I know, Karmen_."

"So why then, would Ms. Gray accept a pass from someone she's only known for two days?"

"The answer is in the question, Karmen. They must have met before and worked something out."

Karmen gawked at her friend in disbelief. "Fine." She retorted, having nothing else to say.

"You can go join the rest of the class, Lolita." Ms. Gray said.

The skinny girl nodded slightly.

Taylor walked over to Lolita so she could talk to her while the rest of the class did warm-ups. Taylor put on a fake smile. "Hi. I'm Taylor. Are you new here?"

"Yeah. I came yesterday. I'm Lolita." Her voice was surprisingly dainty, but it was weak and small.

_Just like the rest of her_, Taylor thought. "If you love dance as much as I do, then this is the class for you." Taylor pretended to care as she did her warm-ups as well. "Don't you love it?"

"No, not really."

_Oh thank God!_ Taylor thought.

"It's the only class that wasn't full." Lolita said honestly.

Anger now brewed inside of Taylor. But she had to pretend to take it lightly. "Dance is the kind of hobby that needs to be taken very _seriously_."

"I know." Lolita looked down. "And I don't think I'm serious enough about it."

"Then maybe you should check those class lists again because I think something will open up."

"Too late."

"Too late for what?"

"My schedule's already set. I can't change out."

Taylor sighed. _I guess we're stuck with her._

After the warm-ups, Lolita was supposed to give an audition like everybody else in the class. Lolita put a CD in the boom box which was in the center of the room. The music was loud and rocky and Taylor could tell by the faces on the other students that they did not like this at all. Lolita danced loosely with no rhythm. She wasn't even very strong. In fact, she was downright awful.

Taylor smiled and Lolita approached her. Taylor clapped slowly. She was the _only_ one clapping. "I think I've changed my opinion of you. You might want to stay in this class after all."

Lolita smiled shyly, not realizing how bad her dancing was.

Ms. Gray had a very sour look on her face. She knew she was going to regret having the untalented one in her class, but the fact is, Ms. Gray had specifically asked for Lolita to be in this class. Ms. Gray wanted to get to know the teen and discover if she was the person she thought she was.

At lunch, Taylor invited Lolita to sit with her and Karmen.

"Why did you ask her to sit here?" Karmen whispered.

"Don't worry. I've got a plan." Taylor murmured. Taylor looked at Lolita and watched her pull out her lunch. It was all veggies and fruits. How strange. "You sure like your greens, huh?"

Lolita nodded. She looked over her shoulder and considered Taylor's lunch. "Is that grilled caviar?" She asked Taylor nauseously.

Taylor nodded. "Want some?" She offered with a low chuckle.

Lolita backed away. "No thanks. I'm a vegetarian."

_How odd_, Taylor thought. And Karmen laughed.

"So what brings you here in the middle of a school year?" Karmen asked Lolita.

"New foster parents." Lolita said casually.

"Oh." Karmen regretted asking. The subject of parents at all made her heart heavy.

"I really don't mind talking about it. I'm just glad to have the parents I've got now. The foster family I had before…well they were science geeks. They were going on and on about ghosts and stuff. And then I got moved back to the Baxter family. They were the couple who was originally watching me. They're all normal I guess."

"Ghosts?" Taylor asked with disbelief. "Ghost scientists?"

"They preferred the term "Ecto-Ologists" but yes, they studied all things weird and freaky." Lolita said.

"Does everybody in this town believe in ghosts?" Karmen asked. "It seems like every day somebody somewhere brings them up."

"Ghosts? Who cares! _My_ life is one-hundred-percent ghost-free." Taylor said with a proud smile.

"And I really don't know anything _about_ ghosts." Karmen said quietly.

"My brother would probably be into that kind of junk." Taylor said.

"Cool." Lolita said.

"So you really _do_ believe in ghosts?" Taylor teased.

"I've never actually seen one, but my mom—my _real_ mom—used to tell me all about this Danny Phantom ghost that would save the town from all these monsters just so the citizens would be able to sleep a little better at night. My mom told me she and Danny were chums back in high school."

Taylor and Karmen both thought that was a cute anecdote even though they didn't like Lolita.

"That's a nice story." Taylor finally said. It was the first thing she said to the new girl that wasn't a lie.

"That's all I remember of my mom, really. Oh, and she had orange hair, just like mine, only without this dark red streak in it." Lolita pulled forward some of her bangs. "See this? It's natural. Ever seen a streak of hair that red before?"

Both Karmen and Taylor shook their heads. "Just dye it if you don't like it." Taylor said casually. "Karmen says she doesn't like her natural hair color either. See, it's perfectly fine to have your hair different colors. Karmen, what _is_ your natural hair color anyway?"

Karmen twirled a few sea-green strands around her index finger. "Um…brown. Dark, dark brown. Darker than yours, Taylor."

"Really? I could never picture you as a brunette." Taylor said thoughtfully.

Karmen laughed. "Neither could I!"

Now that lunch was over, Taylor wanted to forget everything Lolita had said about ghosts. But Taylor couldn't forget when she saw the impossible. Outside the school in the parking lot, there was a woman with bluish green skin. Her hair was in green dreadlocks and she wore a red jacket that said "Johnny's Girl" on the back. And then she flew away. She _flew_.

There had to be something freaky going on! Either the woman was on strings, or…Taylor didn't even want to guess!

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**Thanks for reading and keeping up with the story everyone! Remember to still fave and follow the old version of this story because more updates are underway :D and revisions are just around the corner too :)**

**~Prenn**


	5. Worthwhile Opportunities

**I'm back! Enjoy this newly revised chapter hot off the press. Be prepared...the action starts soon!**

**Hope you are all enjoying this so far :D I love all you readers!**

**Many thanks for the several thousand hits Daddy's Little Heroes has so far :)**

**Feel free to check out the epic movie poster I made for the story on deviantart. In case you don't already know, my username is PrennCooder.**

**I've been working on several FictionPress novels as well so go check 'em out! My username there is PrennCooder as well.**

**I think that's it for now :p**

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**Chapter 5: Worthwhile Opportunities (1,500)***

After the last bell of the day had rung, Taylor looked everywhere for Karmen but could not find her. But Taylor _did_ find her brother Leo. She took him by the arm and they ran outside where Taylor spotted their limo. She pulled him inside quickly.

"Why are you in such a rush to get home?" Leo asked. He fixed his messy brown hair back to the way it was before they ran. "Calm down."

"I'm not in a rush. I just wanted to talk to you in private." Taylor said. She dumped her homework on the floor and turned towards her brother. "Do you _seriously_ believe in ghosts?" They locked eye to eye.

Leo gave her a weird look. "Yes. Why do you suddenly care? I thought you said ghosts were a bunch of nonsense."

"Well I think I saw a ghost. Earlier. She was middle-aged and had green skin and she could fly. I've never seen _that_ kind of nonsense before. Have you? It was the sort of thing you see in movies all the time. Only here it was…she was…flying away right before my eyes."

"Are you sure it was a person? Not a reflection, or a television screen, or a hallucination, or a balloon…"

Taylor sighed. "Really Leo? You don't believe me? I know what I saw, and it's for real. You know I don't hallucinate. And nobody makes balloons _that_ realistic."

Leo was silent. He pulled out his laptop from his backpack. Leo showed his sister internet results of ghost. Most were from movies, Halloween costumes, cartoons,

"Those aren't ghosts, Leo, _those_ are movie actors dressed up. I'm talking about _real_ ghosts, not bed sheets or people in makeup and wires. I'm telling you about the living thing."

"Ghosts are dead." The boy pointed out.

Taylor frowned. "Not the time, Leo. Not the time."

Leo rolled his eyes. "I don't know what else there is to show you. I'm sure there are real ghosts out there walking among us, but they don't usually get caught on camera. I wouldn't know where to look even if I wanted to find one."

"You?" Taylor's blue eyes widened. "You, Leo Jacob Masters, the biggest ghost nerd I know?"

"Sorry, Taylor. If you want anything more than this, you'll have to get somebody else involved." Leo began to pack his things away.

Just as her brother had zipped the laptop case closed, Taylor remembered, "Lolita told me about someone named _Danny Phantom_. I believe she said _he_ was a ghost."

"Lolita's involved? Why didn't you say so!" Leo typed in "Danny Phantom" into the search engine slot. The image results were all from newspapers about twenty years ago. "Gee, this guy is old if he was our age over twenty years ago. And I can't seem to find a recent picture of him."

"Maybe he's dead."

"Duh! Taylor, he _is_ a ghost. He's _already_ dead."

"Well there's no need to be catty about it. I was thinking maybe he wasn't dead-dead before but now he is."

"You're not making sense."

Taylor laughed. "I know."

"It seems like your "Danny Phantom" used to be a pretty popular fella." Leo said, intrigued. "Before he…_disappeared_. Dun. Dun. Duuunnn!"

"Oh dear." Taylor sighed. "Dad might know about him. We should ask."

"That's…not a bad idea, Taylor." Leo smiled and put the laptop back in his bag.

"Are ya nervous?" Leo kindly asked Taylor.

"No…what would make you think such a thing?"

Leo smiled.

"Stop that."

"Never." Leo said. "So why are you still standing there?"

"I haven't thought of what to say yet." The girl confessed.

"Just go." Leo gave his sister a little push.

"And you'll be standing right here waiting for me, right?"

"I'm busy tonight actually."

Taylor sighed hopelessly. "Allright. See ya in a bit. Wish me luck."

Taylor opened the door to her father's study. It was a trick knob designed to keep the workers out. Fortunately Taylor had figured out its secrets long ago. Vlad Masters was sitting at his large sequoia wood desk. He was sorting files and updating information on his computer. He looked up when he saw Taylor's shadow. The young girl looked at her father.

She knew he was not her _real_ father, but she always loved him as if he was. She stared hard at him for the first time in a long time. And she realized he was older than he used to be. He was over sixty. Why was that suddenly so unsettling a factor to the teen?

"Taylor?"

"I wanted to ask you if you could tell me a little bit about ghosts."

"_Ghosts_?" Vlad seemed concerned. He swapped one pair of glasses for the next. His eyes were slightly swollen due to both age and fatigue, and he looked as though he was squinting.

"And don't tell me there's no such thing." Taylor laughed nervously.

Vlad stood up and put a fatherly arm around her. "Taylor, I knew sooner or later one of you would come and ask me about those monsters. Yes, unfortunately they _are_ real. But the truth is, they are really awful, vile creatures and I'll assure you that you shouldn't go chasing after them."

"But—"

"No buts! All ghosts are evil."

"Every one?"

"Every single ghost."

"But there are evil humans, just as there are good humans. Why is it not the same—"

"Because being a ghost is a curse. Ghosts are sociopaths with no reconciliation for what they do. They just make their way around the world aimlessly, following flippantly cruel pleasures and desires."

Taylor looked down.

"I personally could find no good in that. Now humans on the other hand, care. Place your trust in them, and it will do you good."

Taylor was silent.

"Can I get a "yes" or something?"

"Yes, father."

"Good girl. Now help your old man to the couch, will you?" Vlad was helplessly humble in his aged and weakened state, so he really did require the help of a younger sprite.

"Are you ill?"

"No, no, Taylor. I'm afraid I've been working all day instead of keeping up my fitness like I used to. Someday you'll understand."

Taylor nodded. She started to walk away out of her father's office. "Don't you want more light in here than just that one desk lamp?" She asked with concern.

"No thanks dear, I'll be fine." Vlad waved her on.

Taylor walked out and shut the door. And then she quietly tiptoed to Leo's bedroom. It was always a big shock coming into the den because it was…well it was Leo's world. The walls were midnight blue with stars painted on them and the ceiling was alien green. And all over the walls were a clutter of mythical-themed posters.

"I saw a ghost." Taylor reminded herself. "I know I did."

"What did you say?" Leo looked up at her.

"Nothing." She said. She was lucky that Leo wasn't as intelligent or inquisitive as Aiden was. In fact it was for that very reason that Taylor stopped talking to Aiden as often as she used to. "Dad doesn't know anything."

Leo sighed. "All you could do was try."

"I guess so."

Leo was on his laptop studying a certain subject. He turned the computer around and showed his sister the screen. "If you Google Danny Phantom _Amity Park_, you'll get all of these results. See for yourself. The town loved him. Back in his day, there was some sort of danger he kept saving everyone from."

"That's really cool." Taylor smiled as she studied the work of the hero.

"And notice that in a lot of these pictures, there are some reoccurring people who stand by him and support him. Maybe he knew them."

"Don't say it like that!"

"Like what?"

"Like he's dead. I'd rather not think he was."

"Taylor, this is no time to give your little imagination an exercise! If you say you saw a ghost, then we need to talk to someone experienced with them. Someone professional. Someone like one of the people in these pictures. The most prevalent ones are this guy with the big geeky glasses and some funky tech gadgets, this very pretty brunette lady, this tall gaunt guy with oddly streaked hair, this blond guy with freakishly cool eyes, this thin redhead lady, this muscular woman, and this last miss who looks like a younger twin of Danny Phantom himself.

"Hey! That muscular woman in the red suit reminds me of…_Ms. Gray_!"

Leo had to stop and think a moment. "Yeah! She does! I wonder if she _is_."

"Maybe Lolita knows more than she let on. She mentioned Danny Phantom. I wonder if she knew about any other famous ghosts. Let's try to find the names of the people in these pictures, kay?" Taylor suggested.

"Already thought of that."

"And?"

Leo shook his head. "Not a single name, address, friend's name, or any further information whatsoever."

Taylor sighed defeatedly.

Leo sat up straighter. "Well I suppose we do know one thing about them then."

Taylor's hope suddenly returned. "What's that?"

"They care an awful lot about covering their tracks."

"Ah! You're so smart."

Leo smiled. "Get close to Lolita at school."

"I think you'd be better suited for the job. She's so repulsive to me."

"Why? She's totally nice."

"She's also a total bag."

Leo chuckled a bit. "Just try. For my sake, for your sake, and curiosity's sake."

"Leo…"

"Come on."

"Fine." She hugged him.

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**~Prenn**


	6. Imagination Indignation

**Review please :D**

**Enjoy the story as the adventure continues! I'm so excited to have another chapter out!**

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**Chapter 6: Imagination Indignation**

The next morning, Taylor decided to sit next to Lolita in their math class. Leo watched them out of the corner of his eye. He was proud of his sister for actually carrying through with the agreement and sitting with the ugly girl. Leo didn't believe Taylor would actually do it. She must really be curious or else she would have let the subject go by now.

As Taylor was flipping through her notebook, ready to begin the days' work, she realized she was lacking a certain sidekick of hers. "Where's Karmen?" Taylor asked out loud. The question was not meant for anyone to hear. Taylor slid down in her chair and pulled her pink cell phone out of her purse. She could text without looking now, so that she appeared to be paying attention in class when she was trying to reach Karmen.

Sadly, the skill was a bit of a waste when Karmen didn't answer.

In between first period and lunch, Taylor sent seven text messages to her best friend. It wasn't like Karmen to give the silent treatment. What was keeping her? Was she sick? Was there an emergency? A sudden tragedy? Or had Karmen just lost the phone? Even if Karmen had taken a sudden illness, she _always_ notified her friends in the morning before they went to school.

In dance class, Taylor was so bored. She didn't feel like sitting with the rest of the group. Instead she just did her warm-ups all by herself. Conversation with certain other students was always awkward without Karmen. As a matter of fact, large portions of Taylor's _life_ would be awkward without Karmen. Taylor realized that having a friend around was the foothold of her confidence. Without Karmen, Taylor sunk to a strange level of uncertainty. This left Taylor no other choice than to sit with her dorky brother Leo. Leo typically sat wherever his dorky science friends would sit. Today, Leo sat betwixt a geek and a nerd. The geek was Lolita, of course.

Leo's eyes were confused when they saw Taylor standing there. Still, he offered her a seat. Taylor sat down awkwardly at the only available spot—next to a stroppy boy whose clothing ensemble was a downright train wreck. This boy was thin. So thin his ribs showed through his shirt. His hair was cut short and precise—and that was always a boring feature in a male. The guy had checkered glasses. His pants were corduroy—the gross kind. But contradictive, his shirt was football-themed. He was smiling and laughing at the jokes his friends were telling. He frowned when he saw Taylor. He avoided looking at her.

_Figures_, Taylor thought, _this kid must be one of those jerks who couldn't stand me because of my popularity_. Taylor couldn't stand those people. She found them unoriginal, judgmental, and obtrusive. The prima donna did not utter a word. She mainly looked down at her food while she ate all ladylike. Being the single pretty flower among the field of barbaric social outcasts was _not_ as easy to do.

"You're Leo's sister, right?" Lolita looked at Taylor. The geek smiled in such a way that it made Taylor's skin crawl.

Taylor had little choice but to nod in return.

"I want to thank you for being so nice to me yesterday. You, Leo, and Casey are the only friends I have here so far." Lolita said gratefully.

Taylor put on a fake smile and tried to pretend she liked Lolita. "_Casey_?"

Lolita motioned to the awkward blond boy sitting next to Taylor.

"Oh." Taylor could immediately sense the poignant, unfriendly vibes Casey was releasing.

Casey swore like a sailor, another aspect of him Taylor despised.

She did her best to ignore Casey. Whenever he started running his mouth, Taylor started some meaningless conversation of her own with Lolita and Leo to cover the unpleasant sound of Casey's voice. Casey shot Taylor a cold glare once or twice. Luckily, neither Leo nor Lolita caught on.

"Casey's my foster brother." Lolita informed the twins randomly.

"That's cool." Leo said smiling. Inside he realized that was a dumb line and he closed his eyes tightly. Lolita laughed.

Taylor frowned. _How lame_, she thought. And here she was beginning to believe she and Lolita could be friends in a manner of speaking.

When the bell rang, students slowly shuffled to class. Taylor, attempting to throw away her lunch plates and trash, slipped on an orange juice carton. She let out a little squeal as she fell to the ground. Her right foot and ankle were dotted with someone else's unwanted orange juice. Ew. And to make matters worse, she was wearing white beach pants and a light pink shirt, so whatever mess was on the ground was now all over her butt. And it was there to stay. How embarrassing. Taylor's spirit was crushed. People were laughing at her.

Lolita outstretched her hand to help Taylor up. The unfortunate girl took it. "Thanks." She was surprised that Lolita actually cared. Especially considering that Taylor disliked her devotedly. Lolita nodded politely. In the twinkling of an eye, the two parted ways like this was nothing. It certainly _was_ something, to Taylor at least.

Casey was the only other person who saw Taylor's little scene and gave a second thought to it. Oh, how he hated her, and was glad she had fallen. He wished even more bad luck on her. Casey was a superstitious fellow and always had been—his mother was fully to blame for that. Casey believed that one day Taylor, and any girl like her, would get her own. Then the world would be in full balance!

Taylor spent the remainder of the school day deciding whether or not to let Lolita become her friend. In retrospect, people in high school had a better opinion of you if you had fewer enemies. Lolita wasn't worth making an enemy out of. Maybe, just maybe, Lolita might grow into a worthwhile companion after all. There had to be something good about her, right?

Vlad Masters was sitting in his burgundy desk chair sorting old files as part of his mayoral duties. He accidentally picked up one of his files—his _personal_ files—about the adoption rights to Aiden, Taylor and Leo. The contents of this folder had not been touched or modified in years. As he re-read their forged birth certificates, he remembered that Taylor and Leo were fourteen. They had gotten so big! Even though they were not his own children, Vlad loved them. Just about everybody has a weak spot for children. And Vladdy's was not very prominent, but whenever it was visible it was very obvious.

Vlad pulled out one of the papers. It was an archive of the genetic test Vlad had done. Back when Vlad first acquired the three kids, he cut off some of their hair to use in a test that would reveal whether or not they had inherited their real father's ghost powers. Back when they were just little bundles of joy, the results had come back showing they were 100% human. For the time being, Vlad had nothing to worry about.

But now that the twins are hitting puberty, all the hormonal aggravation might awaken some hidden power. Vlad thought it best to take another test—a newer one—just to be sure.

After dinner, Vlad pretended to take a good look at his sons. Vlad suddenly realized that their hair was too long and insisted that he give them a haircut. That was the easiest part. Taylor, on the other hand, forced Vlad to be more devious and sneaky. Vlad went to such desperate measures as to steal Taylor's hairbrush. Ooh, such evil!

Vlad revived his old DNA sequencer that he had built years ago only for this very purpose. Vlad decided to test Aiden's DNA first. The results weren't instant. Vlad forgot that the machine was very cheap and took over a day to produce the accurate and detailed results that Vlad wanted.

It was thirty hours later before Vlad's sequencer finally produced results. Aiden was 100% human. Vlad was relieved. Besides, Aiden was too focused on his grades and his sports and his girlfriend to care about ghosts at all.

Next, Vlad tested Taylor's DNA.

The following day, Vlad was not amused by the result of his covert experemints. Taylor's DNA showed a 2% ghost portion. This must be a result of puberty, Vlad blamed. Though it was a mere 2% and Taylor was 98% human, she probably wouldn't have any ghost powers at all. Vlad reassured himself with the fact that Taylor was not like her father at all. She didn't have his personality, or his bravery, his skill, his brains, so she certainly would _never_ inherit his powers.

Last and final to be tested is Leo.

In the latter day, Vlad checked up on the sequencer. It was still processing Leo's DNA. What a hunk of junk, Vlad thought. This is taking too long! Vlad found himself making hourly visits to the sequencer. _He had to know that Danny Phantom's children were human. _Full human, and not half-ghost.

Vlad had to wait a whole extra day before the DNA sequencer showed the results of Leo's DNA. Vlad pressed the panel that was supposed to show the results. It crashed. Vlad shouted angrily to the sky.

He ran a diagnostic on the machine. The sequencer was working perfectly. It was Leo's DNA that was messed up. Leo's DNA had crashed the sequencer.

However was Vlad supposed to get the results of Leo's genetic pattering? What if Leo developed ghost powers? Vlad didn't want to deal with Leo having powers. Ever.

So Vlad ran the three-day wait for Leo's DNA four more times. And each time, crashdown was imminent. Unavoidable. Like a virus. Or a contagion.

This made Vlad wonder…what was wrong with Leo's DNA?

Was Leo's DNA mutated?

Was Leo more than half-ghost?

Was Leo something in between ghost and human?

Was Leo something different all together?

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**Thank you for reading :3**

**Have a blessed day**

**~Prenn**


	7. Covert Cover-up

**You may have noticed that when I did the re-edit, I added a chapter, and that's chapter 6, I believe. I DO have a new chapter coming your way soon :) In that time, please review, fave, and follow! I will hopefully get the rest of the novel re-edited in the summer :D**

**For now, next week is exams and my final week in 11th grade. I've had alot go on this year from being homecoming princess, to boy drama, to backstabbing friends, to helping the student council plan things...wow it's been an action-packed year for me :) **

**~Prenn**

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**Chapter 7: Covert Cover-up **

It was five o'clock in the afternoon. Taylor was bored stiff. Leo had been invited to the movies by Casey and Lolita. Taylor turned them down because…being seen with a loser like Casey and a detestable dame like Lolita would tarnish a near-perfect socialite life. That said, Taylor needed more friends. Real friends that could put up with her.

As she doodled in an old diary, she expounded on the remote possibility that maybe she wasn't as great as she said she was. Maybe…she was just a nasty…no she wasn't nasty at all. She was the clear picture of the type of girl every guy wants but can't have. But even perfect girls had their flaws.

Then Taylor was reminded of Karmen, who had been absent from school for a week and a half now and hadn't given Taylor any call or communication whatsoever. It was high time Taylor dropped by Karmen's house and gave her a visit! Or tried to.

Taylor walked to the address. To say the least, Taylor had been to this house before, but had never come at a time when Karmen's parents might be home to take care of their daughter. Come to think of it, Taylor had never met Karmen's parents. In fact Taylor knew very little of Karmen's home life except that she had parents. But after all that's happened, Taylor wasn't even sure of _that_ anymore…

The thirteen-year-old tapped lightly on the door. Wouldn't it be awkward if a parent answered? Taylor gave no warning to show she was coming! While waiting for someone to come to the door, Taylor's mind wandered and she noticed that the front lawn of Karmen's house hadn't been cut in a long time. All the windows were dark. Was the family on vacation? No, because Taylor heard someone's footsteps from inside the house.

As a matter of fact, it happened to be Karmen who opened the front door. She left it ajar just enough to poke her head out but did not let Taylor inside. Karmen looked most unhealthy. In this light, her face had a tint of green. Her eyes had dark circles underneath. "What do you want?" She asked Taylor in a groggy voice. Suddenly the two acted like strangers to each other.

There was a feeling in the air…so unnerving…quite unsettling…a terrible air. "I just wanted to know what happened to you. You're my best friend. And you never called or texted back. I got worried. Friends tend to do that, you know."

Karmen's eyes were only half open. She was obviously tired. "Then I guess we're not friends anymore." Karmen attempted to shut the door but Taylor stuck her foot in the way just in time.

"No!" Taylor crossed her arms she did that when she got mad. Her eyes lit up like firecrackers. "Just wait a minute now! Let me get this straight. So, I come to your house and tell you that I'm too good a friend to ignore the fact that you've been ditching school for over a week. And I come over here to help you with whatever's going on, and you tell me we're not friends anymore?"

"I'm not _ditching_ school. I'm _dropping out_ of school. My parents already told the teachers."

"Your parents are okay with totally abandoning your education? That's awful! Well even if they're fine with it, _I'm_ not! I can't let you do that…not after all the studying you do and all the good marks you get and all the plans you made…golly Karmen!"

The green-haired chick heaved a deep sigh. From inside the house, a voice told her to pack some boxes. That had to be one of her parents. Karmen went inside and she left the door open wide enough for Taylor to follow. Taylor looked around. The house was dark. All the furniture was gone. Everything was packed away in boxes. Was Karmen _moving_?

Karmen picked up a few coats that were in one box and moved them to another. Taylor stood by her friend. "If you have a problem, you know you can talk about it with me, right?"

Karmen sighed again. She turned around wearily and looked Taylor in the eye. "You wouldn't understand. I don't want to move. It's more of an I-have-to thing. My parents and I only have a brief opportunity to go back to our original home."

"Is it far?" asked Taylor.

Karmen looked down. "_You won't understand_." She insisted, teeth clenched. This was a totally new side of her. Or was it the version of her she had kept secret all these years? "You're a practical girl caught up in boys and clothes and having fun. But to me, there's more than meets the eye. Do you believe in ghosts?"

Taylor hesitated. She didn't know how to respond. That was such a random question. "Yes." She admitted. "Do you?"

"My parents are ghosts…my whole family is ghosts." Karmen sighed. "_I_ am a ghost."

Karmen's parents came into the room. Karmen's mother was that ghost woman Taylor had seen the other day at school. Karmen's father was a pasty-faced blond biker dude with bad acne. But he had human-colored skin. That's probably where Karmen got her skin color from.

Taylor gasped.

"That's what I am." Karmen restated as if Taylor still didn't know.

Taylor stared at her friend, whom she had known for years. Taylor thought she knew everything about Karmen…until now. That was a pretty big secret Karmen was hiding. And since Karmen had been living among humans her whole life, she probably never told _anybody_. So THIS explained why Karmen never tanned.

Taylor glanced at Karmen's parents.

"You can call me Kitty." The woman said patiently.

"You can call me John." Said the man gruffly.

They took a good look at Taylor, and then went about their normal business again. John treated Kitty as more of a girlfriend than a wife. Karmen went back to packing. Taylor looked over Karmen's shoulder. "Where are you moving to?" Taylor asked.

Karmen chucked nervously. "I'm surprised you didn't freak out. Knowing you, Taylor, you'd probably run off screaming." Karmen turned around. "So what changed your mind?"

"Curiosity." Taylor replied rashly. "Ever since I learned about the history of ghosts in Amity Park, I suppose I've been a little more interested in the subject. There's just something about ghosts that just…fascinate me. I've done my research and so has my brother. I'd never judge you, my friend, Karmen, ghost or not. The only thing that changed is that now I know. You're the same person you were an hour ago."

A smile of appreciation flickered across Karmen's face. "Kind words won't change what's already been set in stone. My parents and I are taking refuge in the ghost zone while we still can. See, before I was born, my parents were taking their honeymoon here. They spent three months down in Florida. When they went back to the portal to the ghost zone, they found out it was not working. They checked other portals too. All of them were closed. Dysfunctional. Inoperable. They've been stranded here ever since. So have many other ghosts."

"Wait, wait, wait! You're telling me that there are ghosts who walk among us!?"

Karmen nodded.

"And ghosts have their own world?!"

"Zone. It's more of a zone."

Taylor raised her eyebrows. Karmen resumed packing her clothes and other various trinkets of hers. "Why was the portal closed?"

"We…don't know. All my parents know is that it's open again and we're going back. We're in a hurry because we don't know how long it will stay open."

"So when are you going?"

"Friday night."

Taylor had to think for a moment. "But that's…two days from now! You're leaving this Friday night?"

Karmen nodded.

"I want to see this ghost zone place. I'm really curious. On Friday, my brother Leo and I will see you off. It's only fair, since you've always been there for my hardest times."

Karmen tried to find a way to say no, but she just could not. Taylor was a good friend. They both knew it. "Meet me here at six o'clock Friday night. Don't be late. And by no means are you allowed to follow us into the ghost zone. It's not safe for humans. Do you understand?"

Taylor nodded. She turned to leave.

"Thank you…for being the best friend I could ever ask for." Karmen said as Taylor left the house.

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**Fairwinds to you my faithful readers,**

**~Prenn**


	8. Simple Tests

**Hey again :3 so glad I finally re-edited this next chapter! Hope you guys are enjoying everything!**

**I know it's a little early, but, got any thoughts on the pairings? **

**~Prenn**

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**Chapter 8: Simple Tests **

Taylor walked home briskly. Her impatience often compelled her to move even when he did not want to; it overwrote whatever laziness trait she had. She took off her jacket in a hurry so she could get to Leo as quickly as possible. She burst into his bedroom and opened the door so fast that the knob slammed hard against the thin wall of his bedroom.

But even that sound could not wake the sleeping boy. Oh, that kid could _sleep_. He was so mucky that way! There he was, in his messy bed with a giant pillow over his head and five blankets around his thin body.

"Wake up!" Taylor tugged on his worn-out, beige tee shirt. She even shook him a little. But he didn't budge. "Leo!" She hollered. She grabbed his feet to pull him out of the bed, but he held on to the railing. So he _was_ awake now. "Leo, Karmen's a ghost!"

Leo sat up. "Say what?" The pillow fell off his head, revealing his overly obnoxious brown hair. It was so scruffy when he slept.

"Yes. She is. And she's going back to the ghost world Friday night! We have to go with her and say our final goodbyes because we may never see her again."

"You're…crazy." He staggered sleepily, pointing a finger at her shocked face. He pulled the covers off his body and he stood up. He wasn't very steady because he was still half-asleep. "…I don't even know Karmen that well."

"But you'll get to see ghosts. I thought that stuff was cool to you…or are have you become a non-believer?"

"I don't even know, Taylor." Leo shook his head sadly. "I really don't know. So what?"

"So you need to come with me!"

"Talk nicer."

"Please say yes…come on, Leo, please?" Taylor knew she had a way with him. "I'll bet _Lolita_ would think it's cool."

"You should bring her."

"Okay, for your sake, I've decided I'm going to give her a second chance." Taylor said proudly.

Leo smiled. "She has that effect on quite a few people, I guess. It's like the halo effect, only with an ugly girl instead of a bimbo." He headed downstairs.

Taylor went to her own bedroom to pick out her clothes for the next day.

Leo was going to the fridge to grab a quick snack when his father approached him slowly. Vlad put his hand on Leo's shoulder very calmly, but it was creepy. Leo turned around, startled. The smell of old Wisconsin dairy products still lingered on Vlad's clothes from before his senior citizen years. The cheese merged with his cologne a little bit too. Whenever he snuck up on Leo like that, Leo felt a chill up his spine; he didn't know why. "Son, I'd like you to come with me, just for a moment." Vlad spoke like a true politician.

"Sure dad." Leo obediently followed his adoptive father into his private study.

Vlad pulled a book from one of the mahogany shelves and a secret panel opened, revealing a hidden staircase. Leo followed Vlad down it with slow, careful steps. They were steps which creaked and moved slightly as weight was pressed and released from them. The stairs were carpeted with red velvet. Specifically, it was _blood_ red, interestingly enough.

Vlad led Leo to a large machine with blue lights and whirling funnels, tunnels, panels and knobs and switches with buttons. "This is a very special machine, Leo." It smelled very special too. Petroleum and iron were definitely present. Maybe a little dash of rust dusted the bottom too. A green residue, which had once been cleaned up, still left a slight shadow.

"It looks pretty cool." Leo still had no idea why his father was showing him this contraption.

Vlad clicked his tongue oddly, a habit he had picked up many years ago. "The other nght, your sister came to me with some strange questions about…ghosts. I wondered where a member of the socially elite high-society would ever have gotten ideas about that sort of mumbo jumbo. And then I happened to recall to my memory your small infatuation with aliens and other fabrications of the paranormal. Have you ever heard about _ghosts_, Leo?" Vlad challenged the young teen slightly as they locked blue eye to blue.

Leo didn't want to lie to his own father. Something about this just didn't feel right. He opened his mouth, but couldn't make his vocal cords resonate. No sound came out. Leo's eyes rapidly moved across the room, searching for any possible out—any way to change the subject.

When Leo did not give an answer, Vlad refocused his impending stare on the machine. "Son, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but ghosts are real."

Leo's heart began to race. His fingers got all tingly. He couldn't tell if Vlad was being serious or not. Since when did Vlad believe?

"…And they are a monstrous menace to modern society, those vile creatures. This here is a machine that can determine whether a person's DNA is human or ghostly. And it gives quite accurate percentages too."

Leo's legs became like jelly. He had to lean against another machine to keep his balance. He was so glad his father wasn't looking at him because Vlad might be able to tell that something was not quite right in Leo's demeanor. "Why are you telling me all of this?" Leo asked boldly.

Vlad did not look back at Leo, but he could see the boy's face through the reflected view on one of the panels on the machine. "Well…I have reason to believe there is a possibility _you_ are not entirely human."

"What are you saying?" Leo stammered, biting his lip accidentally on the last word.

"Um, there is just a…_small_ chance you might have come in contact with ghostly DNA." Vlad lied, but Leo had no way of knowing that. Leo had never come in contact with raw ghost genetics in his life; Vlad made sure of it. "If that's the case, then I'd be forced to remove it from you."

"How?"

"Don't ask stupid questions, boy." Vlad snapped.

Leo frowned. It was like Vlad had a million faces and he shifted into them at the most random of times.

"This is a very serious matter. I need to test your DNA. The most accurate way to test is by saliva."

"So you want me to _spit_ into the machine?"

Vlad nodded. And so the boy had no other choice but to obey. "Go upstairs and don't tell anyone about what happened." Vlad was hoping he'd find a loophole in the malfunction of the DNA sequencer. The general idea behind the sequencer is that it would scan the subject's genetics from both parents as well as the subject's own genetics. Therefore forming a pundett square of dominant and recessive genes. Vlad scientifically proved that "ghost" is a species and not a life stage. The sequencer was now attempting to map Leo's genetics based on pairs of chromosomes. All natural DNA came in pairs, which was a scientific law.

The next morning, the results of Leo's DNA had completed. Crash-free. Vlad studied the data. "Oh butter biscuits—this isn't possible…this is a real problem." He was in panic for a few moments. He took a few seconds to relax while he thought over the possibilities. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing. Leo certainly was _unique_. A new kind. A new species. Sort of a mutation, but not really. That was the way Leo was made naturally.

Most children are the combination of both their parents. Not only was Leo human, but he was also ghost like his father, and also electric like his mother. He was a tribrid. There wasn't enough ghost DNA in him to be able to transform like his father. Leo had his mother's special human-electric genetics, therefore the human side dominated and that's what he looked like. Human. But he was _not_ human.

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Review please :D

~Prenn


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